Sunny skies greeted thousands of music fans as they flocked to the west side of Golden Gate Park. Long lines snaked around the park, all leading into Lindley Meadow, the Polo Field and Hellman Hollow — in part because of a new clear bag policy that caused some delays at the entrances. But once inside the gates, hordes of people rushed to keep up with the music and comedy across the festival’s six stages.

Now in its 11th year, the festival was set to feature its first female-fronted headlining act: the British rock group Florence + the Machine. But women are prominent in every corner of Outside Lands this year, with standout sets by up-and-coming acts such as Billie Eillish and Margo Price drawing huge crowds on Friday afternoon, followed by a triumphant, technicolor performance by “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen.

The festival introduced a cannabis education experience called Grass Lands; a new partnership with West Coast Craft that showcases the work of more than two dozen local makers; a whimsical Bubble Tea Party; and a TED Talks-style speaker series called D.A.V.E. (Discussions About Virtually Everything) that featured science advocate Bill Nye, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness and even Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Between Wolf (whose jokes at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April sparked controversy), Newsom and Van Ness, things got plenty political — a trend that seemed to permeate nearly all aspects of the festival.

“You know what trend I’m most excited about? Voting and awareness,” Van Ness told the crowd. “The big trend I’m excited about is a blue wave. So maybe the trend of the summer is throwing up your hair in a topknot and getting to work.”

Aidin Vaziri covers pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle. Along with his off-the-cuff interviews for the weekly Pop Quiz column, he spends most days shuffling through stacks of new releases and nights at Bay Area concert venues, big and small. He also reports on emerging trends and technologies in the industry. He maintains the popular Loaded music blog on SFGate.com and regularly contributes to the Style section.